Great looking boat. Could we possibly get a parts list for the Downhaul system?

- Hope to be able to put a list together this weekend. Most of the items are simply the 200 series Harken Micro blocks. The Harken beckets that separate the two halves of the upper assembly I believe have been discontinued, though large Harken dealers may have a couple on hand. I should have enough goodies to put another assembly or two together if someone wants one ready to install as well.

- Just a guess on weight, but likely around 450 for the empty boat, and another 150 for me...plus the tramp bag carrying a couple collapsable paddles, life jackets, water bottles, etc...probably a tad over 600 pounds. But the boat could surprise to the lower end of that weight...it felt light when we moved it out of the build area onto the trailer.

Obviously, the best place for a life jacket is on the person...that said, I am just using the standard Hobie large bag (the one with an integrated clear pocket) and find that the aformentioned items fit in. The paddles are the collapsable kind with the twist & lock handles. Usually I carry two jackets, two paddles, spare parts bag, spare rope, sailing gloves, water bottles, and occasionally even stuff a wetsuit in as well. That is about the max capacity.

I had the 18 out of storage today & I snapped some pictures of some trailer modifications / ideas that might be helpful to others.

The first thing you might notice is the clearance between the mast and the back of our SUV. It seems there is always one more thing that needs to be loaded in the back of the vehicle (after everything is hooked up), so I wanted to always have access to the rear lift gate. In order to do this, I purchased a longer trailer tongue and stretched the trailer. Another very good reason for doing this is that it makes it really easy to add a rear mast stand...

Forward mast stand. I tried to keep everything adjustable to the new tongue, in order to allow for best fit.

A neat idea here was the small dedicated tab for the trailer ground wire, rather than the typical small self tapping screw into the frame (hopefully more reliable over the long haul). This is an extremely common fault area for trailer lights.

Swiveling dolly / jack & spare tire. I have never needed a spare tire, in all my years...as long as I had one with me. Your mileage may vary!

Rear mast stand. The other reason why I stretched the trailer tongue...this really makes rigging & towing easier, since the mast can be rested on the rear stand while being pinned & stepped, as well as keeping the weight of the mast off the rear crossbar and hulls while towing. Stretching the length of the trailer also allows the Comp-tip mast to be secured around the aluminum extrusion areas, instead of on the softer composite area...and that could be better for the tip joint since it only has to carry its' own weight if on a bumpy road, rather than additional weight of the aluminum section as well.

Adjustable for height. This seemed about right when trying it out, although I may move it up a notch or two yet. Takes only a wrench and a few seconds to loosen the two u-bolts and remove it when launching the boat, yet is rock-solid going down the freeway. I wanted a completely removable design, rather than a pivoting design, in order to allow it to be totally out of the way for launching and retrieving the boat. No tripping over a submerged chunk of steel.

Another shot of the Hobie Toy Box. The front top opening really improves the utility of these.

These are my favorite tie downs, Available from West Marine. They have nice protection underneath to prevent the buckle from rubbing on the tramp surface, are a simple over-center design that keeps from over-tightening the hulls down (anyone can do it, no worries that your helper will be over-enthusiastic with a ratchet strap), have the Velcro closures to clean up excess strap length; and safety keepers on the end where the hooks are. PLUS you can get all-stainless steel versions, if needed.

I use a piece of carpeting under each strap across the hulls to keep the strap from rubbing into the gel-cote.

Made some nice pivoting bunks, and utilized the existing side rollers as a back-up just in case. Photo also shows upgraded LED trailer lights and Bearing Buddies...nice features to have as well.

Wing supports...made these out of old SX wing legs. The foot casting needs to be rotated a quarter turn, and the overall length shortened slightly. I made a set of vinyl-protected 'forks' to align the supports where they meet the wings, and riveted some heavy-duty Harken eye straps on for tie-downs. They fasten to the mast step with a simple stainless steel bolt, similar to the old Coffey Marine style wing supports. Most supports I have used inevitably rub on the tramps, or the front crossbar, or the wing legs & decals, or don't even offer enough room for diamond wires on the mast to fit through (resulting in the diamond wires damaging the wing legs), or have questionable durability. No worries here, though!

These wing supports hold the wings nicely just past center on the vertical plane, allowing one person to fold or unfold the wings by themself. Works excellent and looks kind of cool, too.

centralmichigansailor-Could you go into a little more detail on how you made your trailer bunks? Are they thermoformed plastic pipes like has been recommended on the forums before, or are they something else (wooden?)? I'd love to stick a set of bunks on my trailer before winter arrives, but think sticking a piece of plastic in the oven to soften it up would get vetoed quickly!

Though I don't have an 18, I've been really interested in reading your posts and the details of your new boat and trailer set up. I really couldn't help but notice two things though. Your trailer set up is great, but may I suggest some side marker lights on your cross bars for extra visibility on that beauty. The other thing I noticed was just how much of an over hang the mast has past the rear of the boat. I'd be worried some tailgater would end up with the comp tip in their windshield. If clearance would allow it I would trailer it with the mast in the opposite direction for comp tip overhanging the tow vehicle instead. Great work btw!

If the comptip is installed properly, I see no reason you can't rest it on the rear mast support. I've got boats with 20 to 25 year old comptips that have always rested the c-tip on the rear mast stand and the joint is still rock solid.

I would slide the mast forward to avoid a rear end accident or a ticket. At the very least, I'd put one helluva flag on that sucker.

Thanks for the comments, guys. I ALWAYS tow with a heavy vinyl orange flag on the end of the mast, very visible. My concern for the comp-tip was based on those that I have personally inspected that were in fact loosening up - with most of the evident physical damage to the tip being from trailering loads and abuse, rather than sailing use - hence my assumption that it was the trailering that did 'em in. Although it is absolutely possible that they had been poorly assembled during their retrofit, too. I know that when I have disassembled a comp-tip that it was VERY firmly bonded to the aluminum section.

We have some absolutely awful patched, bumpy roads here in Michigan. The trade off that I felt was best was to require the joint between the comp-tip and the aluminum section to support only the weight of the comp-tip during trailering; rather than require the joint to absorb loads related to the weight of the (heavier) aluminum section if trailering with the mast farther forward. The beauty of the rear mast stand is that it completely eliminates any weight of the mast on the rear cross bar (and therefore the hulls) during trailering, reducing hull stress. Most systems that support the mast on the rear cross bar during trailering are relatively sensitive to any movement of the boat / mast relationship on the trailer (like a panic stop) - the system I ended up with here completely separates each. And the rear mast stand is also a fantastic aid during initial stepping and rigging the mast prior to raising it.

Bunks are wooden, with a custom curvature to match the hulls. Required me to get my fingers in dangerous places with power tools...so you probably won't see a how-to on the process here, unfortunately. If you are going to leave your boat / trailer outside, you are probably better off going with plastic like others have done since it will be more durable in the long run. Not sure about the plastic in the oven idea, either. Maybe watch for an inexpensive electric one on a garage sale...

Bunks are wooden, with a custom curvature to match the hulls. Required me to get my fingers in dangerous places with power tools...so you probably won't see a how-to on the process here, unfortunately. If you are going to leave your boat / trailer outside, you are probably better off going with plastic like others have done since it will be more durable in the long run. Not sure about the plastic in the oven idea, either. Maybe watch for an inexpensive electric one on a garage sale...

Fair enough. Last thing anyone wants is for someone to try to follow a set of instructions beyond their skill level and hurt themselves!

I'm going to start out with a wooden set (pressure treated lumber, EVA foam pads, and carpet), and upgrade to plastic if they wear out. I've got an idea of how to make a set without endangering any limbs; if it works, I'll share them.

Harken Carbo Ratchamatic blocks all around. FSE Robline sheets and traveler. Kept with a 7:1 class legal (inline) mainsheet stack. I also have an 8:1 setup that I have used on other 18's on the heavy days.

This is (in my opinion) the perfect spot for these quick shackles.

Lets go sailing! Finally!

Caleb,

If you're out there, how did you go about compressing the spring on your 7:1 standup block? The flippin' thing is giving me fits!!! I'm having a super-hard time getting the eye strap through.

Also, would you estimate those quick snap shackles are 2 1/2"? I just ordered a couple.